Sydney, Australia · hard rock · stoner rock

Wolfmother

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Unapologetic '70s riff worship played with enough conviction to make the pastiche irrelevant — 'Woman' still a lightning strike.

Andrew Stockdale, Chris Ross and Myles Heskett had been jamming together in Sydney for several years before Wolfmother took shape as a band in 2003. Ross suggested the name after a character in Tom Robbins' novel Skinny Legs and All. Stockdale had worked as a photographer, Ross in digital media and Heskett as a graphic designer before turning to music full-time.

Wolfmother's self-titled debut was recorded in California with producer Dave Sardy, who aimed to capture the rawness of the band's live shows rather than a polished performance. Alongside the heavy guitar and organ sound the record is known for, the sessions used outside contributions on percussion and flute to round out the arrangements.

The self-titled album reached number three on the Australian albums chart, and after Interscope and Island Records released it internationally in 2006, it went on to sell more than 1.5 million copies worldwide.

Ross and Heskett left Wolfmother in 2008, after four years together, leaving Stockdale as the band's sole constant. He rebuilt the lineup with bassist and keyboardist Ian Peres, guitarist Aidan Nemeth and drummer Dave Atkins, releasing Cosmic Egg with that group in 2009.

Wolfmother's lineup kept shifting afterward. A planned third album, Keep Moving, came out under Stockdale's own name in 2013, while a rebuilt band issued New Crown independently the following year with drummer Vin Steele. Victorious arrived in 2016 as the group's first album for a major label, and Stockdale released a second solo record, Slipstream, in 2018.

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